


Runner Up

by justalittlegreen



Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin, The Baby-Sitters Club (TV 2020)
Genre: BSC all grown up, Drabble, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, LGBT, Perfectionism, Redemption, Self Harm, gay myriah perkins, pretty sure jamie newton's gay, queer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29134392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justalittlegreen/pseuds/justalittlegreen
Comments: 13
Kudos: 3





	Runner Up

Myriah Perkins cracked. 

You knew she would. You knew she would peak in high school, where performativity and perfection coexisted in a triple captaincy of the cheerleaders, dance team and school musical productions. You watched her doodle choreography in the margins of her math notes, completely oblivious to the fact that Ms. McGill would've been happy to show her how trigonometry would've helped them nail their routine and win at regionals.

You watched her picking at the cafeteria food and sneaking sips from miniature can of Tab. You watched the practiced way she threw her arms around her teammates as they sauntered down the hall, watched her hand trail down one peach-sweater-covered spine.

You never heard the rumors because they never existed. Nobody was willing to touch the sparkling whirlwind that was Myriah Perkins. Even her name sounded simultaneously ethereal and adorable. They'd never believe you caught her slicing up her ankles in the locker room, just below where the hem of her sock would be. They'd never believe you caught her moaning the name of her math teacher in the shower.

Myriah Perkins left Stonybrook High the day after the dance team she started lost their first regional competition and the local paper called her performance in Guys and Dolls "saccharine."

Jamie Newton was the first to stop by her house - or rather, the first that Gabbie would allow upstairs. He didn't ask too many questions, but stroked her hair through the sheets and stuffed a towel under her door so they could smoke in peace. She made some fumbling moves towards his lap, but he caught her hand by the wrist and said no thank you, he wasn't ready for that. She looked up at him, red-eyed and vacant.

You saw the way she came back to school, a little unsteady on her feet, leaning on Jamie for support, rather than the flock of SHS girls that flanked them down the hallway.

Myriah Perkins graduated with honors, but skated through her last semester on the strength of her earlier work, slipping from valedictorian to 12th in her class. Her parents beamed from the 2nd row as she took her diploma, their tight smiles hiding tears, their hands knotted together beneath their seats.

Myriah teaches tap and jazz at the local ballet studio. She is deeply suspicious of the talented girls, and works hard to make sure they know they're loved for more than their perfection. She lives at home, where her parents have quietly put all her trophies in storage.

On her night table is a small ballerina doll, still in its Toy City packaging.


End file.
